The Black Mountain Cycles road bike taught me that most of the things we care about in a bike don’t matter as much as we believe: heritage, price (and implied value), aesthetic, branding, and, of course, speed.

This frame is so understated that it doesn’t even have a name: It’s just Black Mountain Cycles’ road frame. It is not expensive: $595 for the frame and fork, or a complete bike with hand-built wheels starting at $2,110. It’s not light: The fork weighs about 950 grams—heavier than a Pinarello Dogma F8 frame.

The brand doesn’t have heritage (not yet anyway). Black Mountain Cycles is a small bike shop in Point Reyes Station, California (population 900). The owner and sole employee, Mike Varley, was formerly a product manager at Haro and Masi. By being none of the things we think matter, this bike shines a light on the only thing that does: the ride.

It is a lot like these sexy big-name, carbon, hyperengineered bikes: the BMC Roadmachine, Specialized Roubaix, and Canyon Endurace. Those bikes are carbon with disc brakes, and this one is steel with rim brakes, but they’re very similar.

Like those bikes, this one puts a premium on comfort. Its handling is also biased toward long rides and diverse terrain—free of surprises. But it does all that with fewer frills.

It has a longer wheelbase, and its midreach rim brakes provide clearance for (officially) up to 33mm tires. It is straight-ahead stable. It won’t dart if your attention is suddenly grabbed by the life-and-death battle between a hawk and mouse playing out to your right (amazing what you see when your focus is not consumed by the next 100 meters). Initiating a turn takes a bit of effort, then diligence to catch and correct the bike as it tips in—at slower speeds, it can feel wobbly. But once you’ve adapted, the Black Mountain does not need a masterful touch to arc gracefully through curves, and it can be allowed to run. It is not a sharp instrument for pack riding or flicking through turns, but that should be fairly obvious.

And hell yes it is compliant. Like most metal bikes, it’s buzzier than the smoothest carbon bikes, but that also helps it regain some of the lively spark that gets damped out of heavier, less stiff, bikes.

Take a closer look at the Black Mountain Cycles Road:

Is it faster? No, but why are we all in such a hurry? Why do we want our rides to finish sooner? Unlike the pros, we can just focus on having a great experience—that’s a luxury.

Bikes, if you listen, can always teach you something. Listen to this bike, because what it has to say matters.

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